Community boards have a vital role to play

As noted in the Advance article on June 10, Staten Island for the first time in 30 years will soon have three self-contained City Council districts.

One hopes that the City Council redistricting commission considers the geographic boundaries of the three Council districts to be coterminous with our three community boards (CBs).

The Council must work closely with their CBs: Council members are “ex-officio,” non-voting members of the CBs. Council Members submit nominations for CB membership to the Borough President; half of the BP’s appointments must be made from the Council members’ nominations.

CBs advise the Council on the expense and capital budgets.

All three Council members sit on the Borough Board with the three CB chairpersons.

The three CB district managers participate in the Borough Service Cabinet, which includes borough officials appointed by the head of each city agency.

The community boards 1) participate in the budget process; 2) plan for the needs of the district, and 3) monitor and evaluate the delivery of services.

The City Council 1) monitors the operation and performance of city agencies; 2) has sole responsibility for approving the city’s budget.